Shock concussion report as club’s ‘secret deal’ with player sets ‘dangerous example’ — AFL Daily
The AFL has intervened to scrap a secret agreement between the Geelong Football Club and a player that waived legal rights regarding future brain injuries. While no sanctions were issued, the league now requires all such arrangements to be approved by the AFL and the players' union.
Why it matters
This highlights growing institutional scrutiny over concussion management and player safety in professional contact sports.
AFL ‘Further than intended’: AFL’s penalty call as ‘secret’ Cats concussion deal scrapped AFL head trauma sign-off | 02:10 Ben Waterworth and Max Laughton from Fox Sports August 6th, 2026 6:52 pm Geelong has not been sanctioned but the AFL has warned future agreements like the one they struck with a current player, who has suffered multiple concussions, waiving “some legal rights” for future brain injuries sustained on the field must be approved first.
Herald Sun chief football writer Jay Clark on Thursday morning first detailed his bombshell CODE Sports report , which initially didn’t identify the club or player to protect the player’s identity and sources.
Clark then revealed on Thursday afternoon that Geelong was the club who struck the agreement with the player two years ago.
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